Contra Band Music

Highway High Fi, 1974 A live anthology culled from three well-known concerts: Hollywood Bowl '64, Philadelphia '64, and Tokyo '6...

Over the weekend of March 14th and 15th, 1964, theatres across the US screened The Beatles' Washington DC concert, supplemented with per...

Location filming for A Hard Day's Night began March 2nd, 1964 at Paddington Station in London. The first scenes shot took place on a tr...

King Kong Records, 1976 CBM's sampler LP of tracks from their Sweet Apple Trax sets. Side 1: - Get Back - Tennessee - House Of The Risi...

In between their US trip and filming A Hard Day's Night , The Beatles had one week to record newly-penned songs for its soundtrack. The ...

Russian Disc, ca. 1993 A rare Russian Beatles bootleg (as opposed to a pirate LP), containing excellent-sounding BBC Radio performances, pro...

After arriving at London Airport on the morning of February 22nd, 1964, The Beatles had just 24 hours to rest after their American tour bef...

Tiger Beat Records, 1988 The third and final volume of Starlight Records' compilation series, generally featuring material that was circ...

After a full week of sun, surf, and sand, The Beatles bid a reluctant farewell to Miami Beach on February 21st, 1964. Before departing, they...

MARC, 1976 A Japanese Beatleg containing the first appearance of the July 1st, 1966 ("light suits") Budokan performance, along wit...

On February 13th, 1964, The Beatles left snowy New York for the sunny climes of Miami Beach, where they performed a second time on the Ed Su...

no label, 1970 The Beatleg industry started with this modestly-packaged disc, which was distributed in early January, 1970. The material, un...

During their first visit to New York City, The Beatles enthusiastically recorded radio station IDs and promos for nearly every disc jockey i...

Continuing Saga Records, 1987 A highly listenable LP compiling all but the last four musical performances from the 1982 US version of the Be...

On the morning of February 12th, 1964, The Beatles posed for photos near the US Capitol, then boarded a train bound for New York City. As th...

no label, 1980 Ah, how clever! In conjunction with the Washington DC posts, here comes a bootleg of the Washington Coliseum concert! Think a...

As soon as The Beatles had left WWDC's remote radio booth, Carroll James spoke with a couple of female fans/faithful listeners. James t...

With a steady winter snow falling on the afternoon of February 11th, 1964, The Beatles and company rode the rails from New York to Washingto...

Jarris, 1970 Probably the second Beatleg ever, mostly containing Get Back acetate #2 (the one aired on WBKW in Buffalo in the fall of 1969)...

The events surrounding The Beatles' magical appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show of February 9th, 1964, are covered in an earlier blog po...

ZAP, 1976 Part of the "amendment" compilation series, half from the Melbourne radio broadcast, and half poor quality BBC Radio cut...

George woke up on the morning of February 8th, 1964 with an elevated temperature and flu symptoms. Bedrest was ordered, so he stayed in the ...

Thanks to everyone for participating in my poll. It seems that nearly 3/4 of you like the blog just the way it is. Most of the rest of you w...

Eva Records, 1982 Three sides of this LP are worthless, being incomplete copies of the Liverpool Empire, Houston, and Tokyo concerts copied ...

Pan Am flight 101 landed at New York's Kennedy Airport just before 1:30 pm on February 7th, 1964. The four Beatles stepped off the plane...

no label, 1987 One side of pirated solo Macca tracks, and one side of mostly Lennon interviews. Side 1: - Twice In A Lifetime - Write Away -...

The Beatles' Paris visit ended February 5th when they flew to London, enjoying only one full day off in their home country before jettin...

no label, 1970 One of the rarer early Beatlegs [matrix XCQ-1A/B], basically just a copy of the far more common Kum Back , squashed from ster...

I've set up a poll (left side of the page) for visitors to vote on the future direction of this blog. I can continue alternating the nee...

With anticipation reaching a fevered pitch in the USA for The Beatles' visit, particularly after "I Want To Hold Your Hand" to...

no label, 1971 Half of an earlier Beatles boot ( Last Live Show ) and half Rolling Stones outtakes. Side 1: - Looking Tired - Tell Me Baby -...

On January 14th, 1964, 3/4 of The Beatles left London Airport bound for Le Bourget airport, Paris. Upon their arrival, they spoke to a radio...

TMOQ, 1971 Another iteration of the Philadelphia concert, this one a reissue of TMOQ's version, which itself was copied from the Whiskey...

After their Juke Box Jury appearance, The Beatles finished 1963 performing in cities such as Doncaster , recording two BBC Radio specials, ...

Gnat Records, 1984 A decent compilation of Lennon-centric material, group and solo; mostly copied from earlier bootlegs. Side 1: - Some Othe...

After John's successful if controversial appearance on Juke Box Jury , it was natural for BBC TV to request all four Beatles to fill th...

Beacon, 1978 One of the many discs to cash in on the Deccagone releases, this time an EP pairing two of the earliest singles in that series...

On November 25th, 1963, The Beatles taped a mimed performance of their new single, "I Want To Hold Your Hand"/"This Boy"...

TKRWM, 1976 A repackaging of ZAP's earlier title, Liverpool Flash , containing a mix of live, BBC, and studio material. Side 1: - Paperb...

The Beatles (Police Protection) 46. Sir C. Taylor asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give instructions th...